Friday–Monday, February 7–10

Join us for the third edition of FIAF’s wildly successful festival of French animation with 18 US and New York premieres, including provoking films, exciting shorts, immersive exhibits, video games, panels with leading animators, and much more!

Buy the Festival Pass and Save! Enjoy special access to all screenings and events over the entire festival weekend.


Opening Night


Opening Night Feature Film

The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily


US Premiere
Friday, February 7, 2020
7pm
Ages 6+
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Introduced by director Lorenzo Mattotti
Festival Kick-Off Party at 8:30pm

Inspired by the 1945 classic Italian children’s book by Dino Buzzati, acclaimed Italian illustrator Lorenzo Mattotti brings bold colors and a graphic eye to his first feature film, a tale about friendship, tolerance, and nature.

Opening Night Shorts

Best of Annecy Shorts


Friday, February 7, 2020
9:45pm
Adults
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Festival Kick-Off Party at 8:30pm

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival is the biggest animated film festival in the world. Straight from the 2019 edition, this program of films traverses the globe with a selection of notable shorts, including three short-listed for the 2020 Academy Awards.


Feature Films & Shorts


Free Screening

I Lost My Body

Special Guest: Benjamin Massoubre, Film's Editor

Saturday, February 8 , 2020
11am
Adults only
FIAF Skyroom

Based on Guillaume Laurant’s novel Happy Hand, I Lost My Body is the first animated film to win the Nespresso Grand Prize awarded by the jury of the International Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival.

Feature Film

Hello World!

Bonjour le Monde!

US Premiere
Saturday, February 8, 2020
11:45am
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Made with papier-mâché puppets animated in stop motion and hand-crafted sculptures set in beautifully painted backgrounds, this delightful and delicate film introduces audiences to a fragile ecosystem through the lives of ten animals.

Feature Film

The Prince’s Voyage

Le Voyage du Prince
Introduced by director Jean-François Laguionie

Saturday, February 8, 2020
1:45pm
Ages 7 and up
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

A follow up to director Jean-François Laguionie’s A Monkey’s Tale, this beautifully hand-drawn film with nods to classic films, enchants children and adults with its philosophical themes and sumptuous images.

Feature Film

Louise by the Shore

Louise en hiver
Introduced by director Jean-François Laguionie

Saturday, February 8, 2020
5:30pm
Ages 10 and up
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

A novel reinvention of a desert island story, Jean-François Laguionie’s poignant and personal allegory for aging follows Louise as she scavenges food, finds her Friday in a canine companion (voiced by Laguionie himself), eschews rescue, and reflects on her life.

Shorts

Student Shorts


Saturday, February 8, 2020
7:15pm
FIAF Tinker Auditorium

See a selection of notable student shorts from France’s top animation schools—Gobelins – School l’image, EMCA, ENSI, MoPA, and others—showcasing the country’s emerging talent.

Feature Film

The Swallows of Kabul

Les Hirondelles de Kaboul

Saturday, February 8, 2020
7:30pm
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Post-Screening Q&A with co-director Zabou Breitman

Based on Yasmina Khadra’s eponymous best-selling novel, this critically acclaimed film brings to life through shimmering watercolor-style animation the brutality of life under the Taliban regime.

Shorts

Spotlight on Autour de Minuit


Saturday, February 8, 2020
10pm
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Paris-based production company Autour de Minuit has been responsible for some of the most imaginative and original animated and graphic projects over the past two decades. This eclectic program, organized by head of distribution Annabel Sebag, introduces audiences to some of the producer’s greatest hits.

Feature Film + Q&A

Marona’s Fantastic Tale

L’extraordinaire voyage de Marona

NY Premiere
Sunday, February 9, 2020
1pm
Ages 8 & up
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Post-Screening Q&A with director Anca Damian

Brilliantly told through vibrant colors and dazzling animation, this charming tale follows Marona, a small Labrador mix with a big heart, on her adventures as she meets and is adopted by fascinating characters.

Feature Film

Gwen, the Book of Sand

Gwen, le livre de sable
Introduced by director Jean-François Laguionie

Sunday, February 9, 2020
3:45pm
Ages 10 and up
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

For his first feature film, Jean-François Laguionie created a starkly beautiful post-apocalyptic desert where items from past civilizations drop out of the sky. Recently restored to preserve Laguionie’s lush, painterly images, this ecological parable casts two female characters as powerful instruments of change.

Shorts

The Imaginary Worlds of Jean-François Laguionie

Introduced by director Jean-François Laguionie

Sunday, February 9, 2020
5:30pm
Ages 10 and up
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Spanning works from 1964 to 1978, all recently restored and digitized, this program delves into the singular imagination of a visionary filmmaker Jean-François Laguionie.

Closing-Night Shorts

César-Nominated Shorts


Sunday, February 9, 2020
7:45pm
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Closing Night Celebration at 6:45pm

See some of the best animated shorts from the past year. The program will feature all the finalists in the Best Animated Short category of 2020 César Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, alongside other notable films.

Special Screening

Notre-Dame de Paris,
The Age of the Builders


US Premiere
Monday, February 10, 2020
7pm
FIAF Florence Gould Hall

Co-presented with the French public institution responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral

Special Guests: Director Emmanuel Blanchard and Jean-François Szlapka (SolidAnim Studio)

This acclaimed and breathtaking documentary, spanning 850 years, traces the fascinating story of the Notre-Dame de Paris from its visionary beginnings through the tragic fire of April 16, 2019.


Panel Discussions & Works-in-Progress


Panel Discussion

Behind the Scenes:
I Lost My Body

With Benjamin Massoubre, the film's editor

Saturday, February 8, 2020
12:30pm
FIAF Skyroom

Film editor Benjamin Massoubre will discuss his collaboration with director Jérémy Clapin and his role in shaping the award-winning film I Lost My Body (2019), as well as the stakes in editing in the animation industry.

Talk

Conversation with Jean-François Laguionie


Saturday, February 8, 2020
3:45pm
FIAF Skyroom

In this special conversation, Jean-François Laguionie, Animation First’s Guest of Honor, will discuss his rich body of work as a visual artist, writer, and filmmaker over the course of his 50-year career.

Work in Progress

Brazen
(Culottées)


Saturday, February 8, 2020
5:30pm
FIAF Skyroom

In Brazen, directors Phuong Mai Nguyen and Charlotte Cambon de Lavalette adapt the best-selling graphic novel by Penelope Bagieu, which shines light on 30 women—some well-known and others less so—whose determination, boldness, and strength changed the times and societies in which they lived.

Work in Progress

Mars Express


Sunday, February 9, 2020
1pm
FIAF Skyroom

Director Jérémie Périn (Lastman), screenwriter Laurent Sarfati, and producer Didier Crest present the process behind their forthcoming feature, Mars Express.

Talk

Lorenzo Mattotti in Conversation with Françoise Mouly


Sunday, February 9, 2020
3:30pm
FIAF Skyroom

In this career-spanning discussion, Lorenzo Mattotti discusses his work, from his iconic magazine illustrations to his transition to the silver screen with New Yorker art editor Françoise Mouly.

Panel Discussion

Women in Animation


Sunday, February 9, 2020
5:15pm
FIAF Skyroom

This discussion will bring together women from a variety of perspectives, who are currently working in animation in Europe. They will discuss the state of the industry, what is currently at stake for women, and challenges that lie ahead.


Exhibition & Games


Exhibition

New Yorker Covers
by Lorenzo Mattotti


Saturday–Sunday, February 8–9, 2020
11am–6pm
FIAF Tinker Auditorium

Italian illustrator and graphic novel author Lorenzo Mattotti is best known in the US for the enchanting cover images that he has been creating for The New Yorker since 1995. FIAF’s exhibition will give audiences a chance to rediscover the artist’s astute eye, virtuosic compositions and wry sense of humour.

Exhibition

Video Games
and Virtual Reality


Saturday–Sunday, February 8–9, 2020
11am–6pm
FIAF Gallery

Experience virtual reality films and video games from French studios like Atlas V and Cinétivé, as well as distributors such as the Franco-German channel Arte.

Workshop

Virtual Reality Workshops


Saturday–Sunday, February 8–9, 2020
11am–6pm
FIAF Gallery

Create a VR film during 45-minute hands-on workshops using the latest technology, led by New York Institute of Technology faculty and staff.

Exhibition

Augmented Reality


Saturday–Sunday, February 8–9, 2020
11am–6pm
FIAF Tinker Auditorium

View works by students from Angoulême-based EMCA, one of the top animation schools in France. Each work is a three-panel comic strip containing a hidden scenario revealed via an app.


Around Town


Feature Film

The Painting

Le Tableau

Wednesday, February 5, 2020
6:30pm
Ages 9 & up
Lycée Français de New York

Post-screening Q&A with director Jean-François Laguionie

In this charming movie animated in sumptuous style, the world is an unfinished canvas populated by characters who go in search of their creator. This briskly paced French production tackles themes of identity and creativity.

Festival Lead Sponsors
Atari, Magnetic Bordeaux, Pôle Image Magelis (Angoulême), and Ville de Paris

Festival Supporting Sponsors
Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, Institut Français, JCDecaux, Metrowine, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and UniFrance